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Bag End
"In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a Hobbit-hole, and that means comfort." Bag End was an elaborate hobbit-hole atop the Hill in Hobbiton, home of Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins, and Samwise Gamgee. History Bag End was built around Third Age 2880 by Bungo Baggins as a dream-home for him and his wife, Belladonna Took. Thanks to his wife's family fortune (she was the daughter of the Thain of the Tooks, Gerontius Took), he was able to build a very large and comfortable burrow overlooking all of Hobbiton. After the birth of their son Bilbo, they concluded they were not going to have any more children, and so abandoned plans to burrow around to the north face of the Hill; many side passages were blocked off and not rediscovered until over a century later by Master Samwise. After Bungo and Belladonna's deaths, Bilbo inherited Bag End and lived a comfortable bachelor's life alone. This sparked the jealousy of his cousin Otho Sackville-Baggins, who always envied Bilbo's wealth. All this changed with the arrival of the wizard Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield, who dragged Bilbo off on a grand adventure. Otho and his wife Lobelia were quick to claim the property. During an auction to sell off the hole's contents a year later, Bilbo reappeared with a fortune in gold and reasserted his claim on Bag End, to the Sackville-Bagginses' eternal annoyance. Bilbo continued to live alone for many years until his young cousin Frodo Baggins was orphaned. Bilbo took Frodo in and named him heir to Bag End, which outraged the Sackville-Bagginses. After Bilbo's disappearance in TA 3001, Frodo became master of Bag End until his departure on the Quest of the Ring in 3018, when he willed it to Lobelia and her son Lotho (Otho having died some year earlier). In Frodo's absence, Lotho took over the Shire with the help of Saruman, but his plans quickly got out of hand with Saruman's arrival in the Shire: Lobelia was arrested and sent to the Lockholes in Michel Delving, while Lotho held prisoner and eventually murdered by Saruman's lackey Grima Wormtongue. After Saruman was defeated in the Battle of Bywater, Frodo and his companion Samwise Gamgee took up residence in Bag End, with Frodo departing over the Sea two years later in TA 3021. He left Bag End to Sam, who lived in it with his wife Rose and their thirteen children until he too went over the Sea in Fourth Age 61. From then on, Bag End was owned by his eldest son, Frodo Gardner, and his illustrious descendants. Description Bag End was the most luxurious smial in the Hobbiton area. Built into the southern slope of the top of the Hill, it featured a large round front door painted bright green, opening onto a central hallway running westward, opening onto other rooms, including a kitchen, dining room, study, parlor, multiple bedrooms, and several pantries and storerooms. A second door at the western end of the hall led up to the Hill's summit. Bilbo maintained a small secret room in which he stowed his gold, though he gave most of it away by the time he left. Bungo Baggins built an "inner hall" running north into the Hill, leading to a back door on the Hill's north face, but blocked it off after Bilbo's birth. Saruman discovered this passage and used it to hide Lotho's remains. Master Samwise had it opened up again and cleaned out after he took up residence. In front of Bag End was a fragrant garden tended by the Gamgees, small lane winding up the Hill, and a wide yard owned by Bilbo. This "Party Field" was the site of his famous going-away party, centered around the "Party Tree". The tree was cut down by Lotho during his industrialization of the Shire, but Samwise planted the mallorn seed given him by Galadriel on the spot. Inhabitants Baggins Family * Belladonna Took * Bilbo Baggins * Bungo Baggins * Frodo Baggins * Lobelia Sackville-Baggins * Lotho Sackville-Baggins During the Scouring * Grima Wormtongue * Saruman Gamgee Family and Offshoots * Bilbo Gamgee * Daisy Gamgee II * Elanor Gamgee * Frodo Gardner * Goldilocks Gamgee * Hamfast Gamgee II * Harding Gardner ("Harding of the Hill") * Holfast Gardner * Merry Gamgee * Pippin Gamgee * Primrose Gamgee * Rose Cotton * Robin Gamgee * Ruby Gamgee * Rose Gamgee * Samwise Gamgee * Tolman Gamgee References * MERP: The Shire * Karen Wynn Fonstad, Atlas of Middle-earth Category:Shire Category:Hobbiton Category:Hobbit Category:Cave Category:MERP